Japan street piano confiscated after buskers break etiquette rules

Street pianos have been installed in cities across the world, but failed to strike a chord with Kakogawa City Council. Photo / Ian Barsby, Unsplash

‘No more Chopsticks!’ a Japanese city has declared after officials confiscated a street piano that was being played too often, too loudly and without respect for manners.

The Kakogawa City Council placed the piano in the main railway station six months ago. The city, which is twinned with Auckland, was inspired by the public art movement, placing the instruments in shared places such as shopping centres and transport hubs.

From Poland’s ‘pianina miejskie’ in Warsaw to Sydney’s street pianos installed in the early 2000s there are hundreds of cities that have given unwanted pianos a second life as public art installations.

Artist Luke Jerram claims to have installed almost 2000 pianos with his team around the world.

However the ‘Street Piano’ movement failed to strike a chord with the city council after agreeing to install the instrument in the train station.

The city says it was disappointed by the disregard for rules, such as playing for too long, too loudly or, worse still, singing.

When the piano was first installed in November last year it came with a set of accompanying rules. Performances were to be kept to 10 minutes and no singing was to accompany players, as signage told musicians.

The city says it received complaints that some players would practise the same songs - over and over. One bored pianist was accused of playing Chopsticks (which in Japan is known as Neko Funjatta or “I stepped on a Cat”) for over an hour.

Other complaints said that it was installed too close to the PA, meaning train passengers missed announcements.

Many commuters were sad to see the instrument go. “I have an electronic piano at home, so I like to practise here,” one man said in his 60s. “Most people observe the rules. I think it should stay,” he said.

Another was glad for some peace and quiet. “I’ve seen people who kept playing the same song and yelling along for about an hour, and everyone was walking had a disgusted look on their faces,” said another.

Japan to drop vaccine requirements and Covid border controls

Japan will lift most of its coronavirus border controls, including a requirement that entrants show proof of three vaccinations or a pre-departure negative test, beginning Saturday as the country’s Golden Week holiday season begins and a large influx of foreign tourists is expected.

All entrants with symptoms will still be required to take Covid-19 tests after arriving until May 8, and those who test positive will be placed in designated quarantine facilities, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. After May 9, testing of those with symptoms will be voluntary.

Japan will also drop a special measure subjecting visitors from mainland China to random testing upon arrival that was implemented in late December when infections surged there, he said.

The government had originally planned to implement the changes on May 8, when it will downgrade the official status of the coronavirus to a common infectious disease like seasonal influenza, but decided to speed them up for the holiday season beginning Saturday.

Japan’s government dropped its requests for mask wearing in March, leaving it up to each person’s discretion. Most Japanese continue to wear them, although they are only recommended now in crowded trains, hospitals and other public spaces, and near elderly and other vulnerable people.

Covid-19 is currently categorized as a Class 2 disease along with SARS and tuberculosis, which allows restrictions on the movements of patients and their close contacts and the issuing of emergency measures by the government. Downgrading it to Class 5 will scrap those rules.

- With AP reporting